Silver Spring Students Win Big In C-Span Documentary Contest

SILVER SPRING, MD — Five Silver Spring students earned big money when they placed first in a documentary contest sponsored by C-SPAN. The documentary contest's theme this year was "The Constitution & You: Choose a provision of the U.S. Constitution and create a video illustrating why it's important to you."

Two sophomores from Montgomery Blair High School—Hemakshi Gordy and Jansikwe Medina-Tayac—will split $3,000 as first prize winners in the High School - East Division category for their documentary "No Trespassing: Seeking Justice for Native Women."

Three eighth graders from Eastern Middle School—Kiera Lamb, Uma Fox and Kiah Beachler–were first prize winners in the Middle School division and will split a $3,000 reward. Their documentary is called “Survival of the Veiled Face: The Constitutionality of Abortion."

Gordy and Medina-Tayac's documentary can be seen here. The film discusses justice for Native American women and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Their winning video will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day on April 21.

The middle schooler's documentary addresses the controversy surrounding abortion. Their video will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day on April 18.

Each year since 2006, C-SPAN partners with its local cable television providers in communities nationwide to invite middle school students (grades 6-8) and high school students (grades 9-12) to produce short documentaries about a subject of national importance.

Over 2,985 video were submitted from more than 5,700 students in 46 states and Washington, D.C. Students worked in teams or as individuals to address a wide range of public policy issues, from the freedoms of the First Amendment and the right to bear arms, to equality and the powers of Congress.

The most popular provisions of the Constitution explored by students were the First Amendment (26 percent), followed by the Second Amendment (16 percent) and the 14thAmendment (11 percent), C-SPAN said.

Other Silver Spring students won big in the competition. These students won $1,500 as second place winners:

• Takoma Park Middle School students Dhruv Pai and Carina Guo for their documentary "First Amendment and Social Media Regulation." This video will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day on April 5.
• Julianne Garnett, Marijke Friedman and Kinsey Lee of Eastern Middle School for "The Constitutional Controversy Over D.C. Statehood." This video will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day on April 13.
• Eastern Middle School students Julia Angel, Maria Bond-Lamberty and Olivia Schulz for "Undefended- Gideon v. Wainwright and the Fight for the Right to Counsel," about the Sixth Amendment. This video will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day on April 1.

These Silver Spring students won $750 as third place winners:

• Montgomery Blair High School students Anne Hicks, Cecelia Dworak and Sam Kulp for "Fifty One," about the debate over the proposed statehood of Washington, D.C.
• Montgomery Blair High School students Uma Gupta, Mariko Yatsuhashi and Karis Danner-McDonald for "ALEC: The Key to Backroom Politics," about the American Legislative Exchange Council and its impact on our First Amendment rights.
• Montgomery Blair High School students Isabella Hunt and Caroline Lanford for "43920," about the opioid epidemic and the Commerce Clause.
• Eastern Middle School students Jessa Nather, Amelie Scalera and Maya Flaherty for "The Electoral College: A Flawed System."
• Eastern Middle School students Kevin Gehl and Abel Seifeselassie for "The American Flag: Respect and Protests."
• Eastern Middle School students Gus Carvell and Lilith Eagle for "We Want You," about youth voting.

"With so much national debate about government power and personal freedoms, we were eager to hear students' perspectives on what the Constitution means to them," said C-SPAN's Manager of Education Relations Craig McAndrew. "Students across the country engaged in conversation on the local level with elected officials, experts, community leaders and educators to explore how national issues impact their daily lives."

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Photo of Montgomery Blair via MCPS